Measuring device



May 21, 1940. J. REINER MEASURING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 20,1939 INVENTOR. Jb na 5 R eine v J-Qai A ORNEYS lha May 21, 1940. J.REINER MEASURING DEVICE Filed Jan. 20, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 imm-Patented May 21, 1940 UNITED STATES ATENT oFFca" 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in, measuring devicesparticularly of the type adapted for. use in measuring a person for thepurposeof making a garment for him and for making the necessarymeasurements in fitting the garment on the person.

The general object of the invention is to provide a simple portablemeasuring device of this nature by means of which the desiredmeasurements in connection with the fitting of a garment may befacilitated.

The various detailed objects of the invention involving the structuralfeatures thereof will be apparent from the following detaileddescription of one form of device in accordance with this invention.

This invention resides substantially in the combination, construction,arrangement and relative location of parts as set forth below. v

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of one form of the device inaccordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is aside elevational view thereof.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectiontal View taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 5.

Figure 5 is an elevational view of the structure of Figure 4 from therear, with some parts broken away and some parts shown in crosssection.

As those skilled in the art can fully appreciate, little development hasoccurred in measuring devices which facilitate the rapid measurement ofgarments and persons wearing them in preparation for making the garmentand for fitting it after it is made. In accordance with this inventionthere is provided a device which is equipped to quickly and accuratelytake the usual measurements of this type, such as the length of thegarment, the hip, waist and bust measurements of the person to wear thegarment, and the like.

' As shown in the drawings, a suitable form of the device consists of abase plate I having extending upwardly therefrom a vertical column orstanchion shown in the form of a tube 2. Slidably mounted on the column2 are a plurality of sliding members in the form of sleeves 3, 4 and 5.The lowermost sleeve is provided. at its lower end with a horizontallyprojecting arm 6 and at its upper end with a handle .1

a forming part of a locking device for clamping the sleeve at desiredvertical positions on the column.

The sleeve 8 is provided with a short horizontally extending arm 8 whichwill be described: in more detail in connection with Figure 4 and islikewise provided with a handle 9 forming part of a clamping device forthis sleeve. Theup permost sleeve 5 is provided at its upper end with ahorizontally extending arm iii which is preferably curved in thedirection of itslength as 10 clearly indicated in Figure 3. The sleeve 5also has a handle ll forming part of a clamping device for this sleeve.

Mounted for movement with the uppermost sleeve 5 as on the arm I0 forexample, is a 15 measuring tape I2. This tape is preferably of the typeconsisting of a. graduated strip 13 which coils up within a housingpreferably by some suitable form of spring action so that when thegraduated strip is released it will move backl into the housingautomatically. There are several well known forms of this type ofmeasuring device.- The measuring device I2 is so positioned that thegraduated strip l3 can be grasped at the end and moved down to engage arear extension Be on the arm 6.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the sleeve 4 is provided with a strap Mwhich is secured thereon by means of a screw 16. The strap-is so formedas to provide a pair of parallel arms in which the handle 9 is pivotallymounted on a pivot pin 23. The short end 9' of the handle 9 is shaped toprovide a cam surface which bears on a strip 4b of hardened metal suchas spring steel which is secured in any suitable manner on a finger 4aformed in the sleeve 4 by slotting, as is clearly shown in'Figure 5. Thecam end of the lever is so shaped that when it is in a horizontalposition, as shown in Figure 4, it tightly pinches the finger 4b betweenit and the column 2, securely locking the sleeve 4 thereon. The hardenedstrip 4b is desirably used where the sleeve 4' is of some soft materialsuch as brass to minimize wear. With respect to the clamping device, itis of the same construction for all of the sleeves.

The arm 8 which is shown in Figure 4 as secured to the sleeve 4b} meansof screws-2|, is bifurcated at the end and provided with a transverselyextending screw 22 by means of which 5d the spacing between the arms 8'formied by the bifurcation may be varied. rThese arms are hook shaped attheir terminal ends and formed to receive and clamp between them a stripl8 of spring metal such as spring steel for example and a graduatedmeasuring strip [9 which is secured to the ends of the strip I8 by meansof clips or clamping strips IS. The strip [8 is more rigid than thegraduated measuring strip l9 and serves to support it. The strip I9 maybe made of metal, fabric, or other materials commonly used for suchpurposes.

It will be seen that the screw 22 is employed to clamp the strips l 8and [9 on the arm 8. A pair of clips 20 of any suitable construction isprovided into which the ends of the graduated measuring strip may beslipped when they are coiled to the back as indicated by the dot-dashlines in Figure 3 to hold them out of the way.

Those skilled in the art will, no doubt, from the above descriptionfully appreciate the many uses to which a device of this type may beput. As shown in Figure 2 the sleeves 3 and 4 may be positioned so thatthe arms 6 and ill engage the bottom of a skirt and the shoulderrespectively of a wearer thereof. The graduated strip l3 may then bepulled down to measure the distance between the arms 6 and In, givingthe length of the garment. The graduated strip I3 may be pulled down tocontact the plate I and a reading taken at the arm Ill and at the arm 6which when subtracted gives the distance of the bottom of the skirtabove the floor. The sleeve 4 may be moved up and down and clamped inplace to provide a measurement of the circumference of the skirt and/orthe hips, waist and bust of the wearer. Thus there is provided in onecompact instrument the means by which all the usual measurements inconnection with the making of custom garments may be quickly andaccurately taken.

I am well aware that those skilled in the art will upon reading thisdisclosure appreciate that various changes in the details ofconstruction of the device may be made. I do not, therefore, desire tobe strictly limited to the disclosure as given for purposes ofillustration, but rather to the scope of the appended claims granted me.

What is claimed is:

1. In a measuring device of the type described, the combinationincluding a vertical column, a pair of sleeves mounted on said columnfor sliding movement thereon, means on each of said sleeves including anintegral finger and a cam for clamping them at desired positions on thecolumn, arms extending horizontally from said sleeves, and a measuringdevice mounted on the uppermost of said arms and extendable to thelowermost arm and/or to the bottom of said column to measure thedistance between said arms, the distance between the uppermost arm andthe bottom of the column and the distance between the lowermost arm andthe bottom 01 the column.

2. In a device of the type described the combination including avertical column, a plurality of sleeves slidably mounted on said column,each of said sleeves being slotted to form a finger, means forindependently forcing the fingers of said sleeves into lockingengagement with said column, and means on said arms for effectingmeasurements in two directions at right angles to each other. JONASREINER.

